


Some Things Never Change

by suibian_distance



Category: Ocean's Eleven Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, canonical Danny Ocean/Tess Ocean, implied Lou Miller/Debbie Ocean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23645749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suibian_distance/pseuds/suibian_distance
Summary: Rusty reevaluates his relationship with Danny. A bit of a road trip + angst with a happy ending.
Relationships: Danny Ocean/Rusty Ryan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 79





	Some Things Never Change

The digital clock was bleeding a red 5:08 AM when the phone rang in a darkened LA hotel suite.  


At five-oh-four the phone stopped ringing, having been left unanswered, so at five-twelve it rang again. 

This time, a hand with the bold lines of a black tattoo picked it up and answered in a weary, tired voice. 

“Who the fuck is this?”  


There was silence, until a voice whispered, “Rusty.”  


The owner of the name groaned and propped himself up with his elbows. 

“Danny? What the hell. It’s five in the goddamn morning.”  


Rusty heard a deep breath on the other end. Danny said, in a small, hoarse voice. “She left again.”  


Rusty bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying _I told you so._

It was bound to happen (again). Tess was so in love with the idea that Danny had changed for her that finding out the truth would shock her so much it would lead to her feeling all sorts of emotions (rage, disbelief, sadness, confusion, etc. etc.) that would in turn lead to Danny getting kicked out for the (what was it now?) fiftieth time.  


But instead of spitting out every word that flooded his mouth, he stayed silent.  


“She had the papers, Russ,” Danny’s voice cracked, quiet, like the kind of quiet in an empty bank vault. “I think she’s for real this time.”  


Again, the other end was silent. Rusty was busy breathing out his _‘I told you so’_ s into the darkness. He waited for the inevitable sentence.  


“Can I come over?”  


Rusty rubbed at his face. “Danny. I’m not at home. I’m in LA. But yeah, you can crash at my apartment. You have the keys.”  


“Not your apartment.” Danny’s words tripped over each other, and Rusty heard the clink of cups in the background. He was probably in the pub near his house, the quiet one that was open 24/7. 

Danny's voice was tinny. “I wanna... you. Wait.” Rusty’s breath hitched in his throat, but then heard the clink of a shot glass and a swallow. “I wanna talk to you.”  


Rusty let out the breath. “We’re talking now.” He pretended not to have heard the _I want you_ that spilled out of Danny’s mouth, because if he acknowledged it, he would have already been packing his bags, booking a flight to New York.  


Danny let out a shuddering laugh, and it sent a shiver down Rusty’s spine.  


Almost twenty-five years ago, Danny’s family moved in from Belleville to Ocean City, NJ. Rusty saw Danny for the first time as he jumped out of the back of the moving van, running after his sister. Rusty had been sitting on the front porch of his house, laying out the cards for solitaire. 

When they locked eyes from across the street, Rusty’s heart felt like it swooped in his chest, but he held Danny’s gaze until the other smirked, turning away to duck from being decked by his sister.  


They spoke for the first time when Danny had grabbed Rusty’s arm after seeing him pull the wallet out of the back of Danny’s jeans.  


“Nice pull. Who the hell are you?”  


Rusty had handed the wallet back with reluctance, but answered. “Rusty Ryan.”  


Danny had smiled, all teeth, the kind of smile that worked on 7-11 cashiers and baristas, and only once on Rusty. “Daniel Ocean. Moved to this city ‘cause of the name.”  


He continued on, tucking his wallet back into his pockets. “You’ve met my sister, yeah?”  


“Debbie’s in my grade. Tried to steal my watch once.”  


Danny grinned. “Yeah, all us Oceans are the same.”  


Rusty tipped his head and smiled back, and from that day on, they were Danny-and-Rusty.  


Sitting in a booth drinking beers Danny got for them by simply grinning at the waitresses, skipping class to hang out in the Oceans’ unused boat trailer, swiping wallets and jewelry from wealthy travellers, Danny hooking his fingers in the belt loops of Rusty’s jeans and pulling him into a kiss, bothering Debbie just because they could, the thrill was in their bones. Danny was the best thing to happen to Rusty.  


It was that same shuddery laugh when he and Danny had walked in on Debbie and her friend Lou sitting just a little bit close to each other, and it had been that same laugh when his sister had screamed and thrown the closest thing she had at them, and when Lou had started laughing too, pushing down Debbie’s arm. 

It was stronger and more sincere then, but it was the same. Some things never change.  


Rusty sighed, forcing himself back into the present. “What do you want me to do, Danny?”  


“I want to see you.”  


“I’m in California.”  


“Come back.”  


“I _can’t._ ”  


Danny was silent for a moment, and for a second Rusty thought he had hung up.  


“Rusty. Please. I… I need you right now.”  


“Now? Just now?” Rusty pushed himself into a seated position. “What, so you can leave me behind after you crawl back to Tess again?” He went on, ignoring the little _c’mon, Rus_ ‘s from Danny. 

“Am I just your rebound guy? Your drunk dialing buddy?”  


He let the silence weigh down a bit more before he said, “Make a choice. Is it your old life and old cons and me, or is it your new life with Tess, pretending to be something you’re not? You can’t have both. Last chance, Danny.”  


He hung up, something blocking in his throat. He placed the phone down, and fell into a fitful sleep. 

\---

The next few weeks were a blur. 

After that night, he got in his car and started driving to nowhere, stopping only for crepes and candy and gas. It was a long trip, not unlike the silent one he went on with Tess after the first job. Rusty refused to pick up Danny’s phone calls and eventually got rid of his phone all together. 

It was a blur.  


But something cleared up, five weeks after the call.  


Rusty sat in a stool in an empty hotel bar in Ocean City. 

He had checked up on his family. They were the same. It was all the same, because things like Ocean City and his family and the way his burner phones all seemed to end up thrown in some cheap diner's trashcan didn’t change. The empty beer bottles behind the Ferris Wheel in Six Flags, tacked up signs on abandoned construction sites, messily stacked chairs on busy beaches. It was the same.  


But suddenly, it wasn’t.  


“Hey,” said the asshole that had changed everything. “Rusty.”  


“Danny.”  


“Surprise.”  


Rusty looked at the empty skin on Danny’s left ring finger, then back at his face. He grinned. “Fucker.”  


Danny laughed his shuddery laugh. “Forgive me?”  


Rusty got up and pulled him into a kiss, feeling Danny’s smile on his lips. “How’d you know I was here?”  


Danny broke the kiss, wrapping his arms around Rusty and resting his head on Rusty’s shoulder. “Some things never change.”  


And he was right.  


And after that, it was sitting in a booth drinking beers they got for by simply grinning at the waitresses, skipping town and loitering in Mom-and-Pop cafes, swiping wallets and jewelry from wealthy travellers, Danny hooking his fingers into the belt loops of Rusty’s pants to pull them into a kiss, and writing letters to Debbie, (who was apparently in jail, because all Oceans were the same,) because some things (like Danny-and-Rusty) never change.

**Author's Note:**

> god. okay. this was my first fanfic. i never expected to write one but here i am.  
> i hope it was ok. my eyes hurt so much and the transition to online school is really hindering my ability to learn.  
> :)) !!  
> title was not inspired by frozen 2 but here we are


End file.
